1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a supervising system for image forming apparatus, and which includes a central control apparatus and a plurality of image forming apparatus connected to the central control apparatus via a communication network. More particularly, the present invention relates to a supervising system for image forming apparatus, and which is capable of selectively connecting a mobile computer of a service person with the communication network at a user site.
2. Discussion of the Background
In the past, many image forming apparatus supervising systems have been proposed. The conventional image forming apparatus supervising systems generally include a plurality of office automation (hereinafter referred to as an OA) machines, such as image forming apparatus respectively disposed at a plurality of user sites, and a central control apparatus connected to each of the image forming apparatus and disposed at a sales dealer or a service center for forming a network.
The conventional image forming apparatus supervising system generally totals an amount of a consumable item of the image forming apparatus, which has been used by a user at a remote site, and communicates maintenance related information between the image forming apparatus and a central control system for a maintenance of the image forming apparatus under a remote control. The totaled amount can be a number of copysheets, and the maintenance information can be an automatic call from the image forming apparatus to the central supervising system, which is made as a result of self-diagnosis on the image forming apparatus. Further, the maintenance information can be an adjusting instruction for adjusting a device of the image forming apparatus, and which is executed by getting an access to the image forming apparatus from the central control system.
Instead of visiting or making a telephone call to the user, the conventional image forming apparatus supervising system using its remote operation generally reads, for example, a total number of copysheets used by the user from a copy counter of the image forming apparatus to make a bill under a maintenance free contract exchanged between the supplier and the user. Further, when the service person arrives at the user site to repair, adjust and check the image forming apparatus, the service person generally informs a service center before they start the above operations, and when they complete the operations.
However, since the service person generally can not freely use a user""s telephone when informing the service center of the start or completion of an operation, the service person is required to use an external public telephone. Even if it is possible for the service person to use the user""s telephone, since an operator working at the service center sometimes is not seated or working in a location to receive a telephone call, a contact is sometimes not smoothly executed.
To solve such a problem, the conventional image forming apparatus connected to a supervising system includes an operation start input device for inputting information indicating a start of a service person""s operation, an operation end inputting device for inputting information indicating an end of a service person""s operation, and an information transmitting device for transmitting the above-noted information to the central control apparatus, as is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid Open Number 8-331355. Thus, the service person can contact the operator of the service center by operating the user""s image forming apparatus when informing the start and the completion of the operation without using either the user""s telephone or a public telephone.
However, since the service person cannot input information indicating the operation start to the image forming apparatus during an image formation process, the conventional image forming apparatus supervising system can not quickly inform the service center of the input information during the image formation process. Further, since each user""s image forming apparatus is required to employ the above-mentioned informing devices, it generally increases costs.
The conventional image forming apparatus supervising system further includes the below-described problems.
First, the service person is generally required to make a prescribed preparation before visiting the user having a problem with the image forming apparatus. For example, the service person is required to obtain history information about the user""s image forming apparatus, which is useful for repairing a problem and for maintaining the apparatus, such as adjusting and checking the image forming apparatus. Further, the service person generally has trouble in carrying the information to the user. It is also sometimes difficult to obtain history information when it is required.
Second, since the service person has to bring a service manual for the user""s image forming apparatus, it is cumbersome for the service person to obtain and carry such manuals. Further, since several service manuals are generally required when visiting several users, it is generally difficult for the service person to bring all the service manuals.
Third, when the service person requests for several types of service manuals to a prescribed service center using a telephone from a user site, the service person can receive the service manuals via a facsimile located near the user, and refer to those service manuals. However, this is cumbersome for either the service person or the operator of the service center.
Fourth, when the service person completes a repair operation for a user""s image forming apparatus and returns to his or her office, the service person is generally required to generate reports describing the results of the repairing operation, a name of an exchanged unit, names of parts, and so on. The service person then requests the operator of the service center to input the report information to a central computer, so that a stock of consumable items, such as an exchangeable unit, parts or the like can be controlled. However, making reports is generally burdensome for the service person, and the input operation is also burdensome for the operator. Further, since a particular computer for the input is required, the cost of equipment generally increases.
Fifth, the service person is generally required to check with the service center about his or her next scheduled appointment using a telephone when a presently executed repair of an image forming apparatus is complete. However, it is time consuming and complex to send related detailed information, such as a user site destination, a section, a person in charge of the user and so on.
Further, in the conventional image forming apparatus supervising system, information indicating a problem occurred in an OA machine, such as an image forming apparatus, is generally automatically informed to a central control system from the image forming apparatus itself. In such a case, the central system generally determines if the problem can be solved by remotely resetting the image forming apparatus, and automatically transmits a reset instruction to the image forming apparatus based on the determination. The image forming apparatus then executes a reset operation to solve the problem occurred therein based on the reset instruction.
Further, the below described operations are generally performed by an operator operating a computer at the central system.
First, the operator erases problem information stored in the central system when a problem which occurred in the image forming apparatus of the user is solved by the reset instruction. Second, the operator is required to determine if a problem can be erased by the reset instruction when receiving problem information from a user site. Third, the operator is required to erase the problem information from a display of a computer of the central system, and maintain the problem information as problem history information.
However, according to these operations, a heavy burden may be imposed on the operator. In particular, due to an increase in data processing times according to an increase in number of image forming apparatus connected to the supervising system, a burden on the operator becomes excessively heavy.
Further, the conventional image forming apparatus supervising system generally takes a statistic of times of the above-mentioned recovery executed to a prescribed image forming apparatus to determine if the service person is to be sent thereto. If the service person is to be sent, the operator is required to deliver the service person. Thus, a burden of the service person increases.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a novel supervising system for image forming apparatus and method thereof.
These and other objects are achieved by a supervising system for image forming apparatus including a central control apparatus, a public communication network connected to the central control apparatus, a communication adaptor connected to the public communication network, a plurality of image forming apparatus connected to the communication adaptor via a wired or a wireless interface, and a mobile computer selectively connected to the wired or wireless interface directly or indirectly for executing communications of information between the central control apparatus and itself via the public communication network.
In another embodiment, the mobile computer may include an operation status information inputting device for inputting operation status information related to an operation status of the service person, and an operation status information informing device for informing the operation status information to the central control apparatus.
In still another embodiment, the mobile computer may include an operation history (i.e., career) information inputting device for inputting requested operation history information, and an operation history information informing device for informing the requested operation history information to the central control apparatus. Further, the central control apparatus may include an operation history information storing device for storing operation information related to an operation executed by the service person for each of the plurality of image forming apparatus when receiving the operation information from each of the plurality of image forming apparatus, a reading device for reading prescribed operation history information from the operation history information storing device when receiving a request for the operation history information from the mobile computer, and an operation history information transmitting device for transmitting the requested operation history information to the mobile computer.
In yet another embodiment, the mobile computer may include a service manual information request inputting device for inputting service manual information request information, and a service manual information request informing device for informing the service manual information request information to the central control apparatus. In addition, the central control apparatus may include a service manual information storing device for storing service manual information for each of the plurality of image forming apparatus, a reading device for reading prescribed service manual information from the service manual information storing device when receiving a request for the prescribed service manual information from the mobile computer, and a service manual information transmitting device for transmitting the prescribed service manual information to the mobile computer.
In yet another embodiment, the mobile computer may include an image forming apparatus designating device for designating a prescribed image forming apparatus, which is to receive the service manual information from the central control apparatus, and which prints the information. Further, the central control apparatus transmits the service manual information to the prescribed image forming apparatus.
In yet another embodiment, the mobile computer may include an operation result information inputting device for inputting operation result information, and an operation result information informing device for informing the central control apparatus of the operation result information.
In yet another embodiment, the mobile computer may include a next user inquiry request information inputting device for inputting next user inquiry request information related to an inquiry of a next user to visit, and a next user inquiry request information informing device for informing the central control apparatus of the next user inquiring request information. In addition, the central control apparatus may include an action schedule information storing device for storing information related to an action schedule of each service person, an action schedule information reading device for reading prescribed action schedule information from the action schedule information storing device when receiving next user inquiry request information from the mobile computer, and an action schedule information transmitting device for transmitting the prescribed action schedule information corresponding to the next user inquiry request information to the mobile computer.
In yet another embodiment, the supervising system for image forming apparatus may include a problem informing device for informing a problem which may have occurred in each of the image forming apparatus to the central control apparatus by automatically calling the central control apparatus by itself, a reset determination device for determining if the image forming apparatus having the problem can be automatically reset when receiving the problem, a reset instruction transmitting device for transmitting a reset instruction from the central control apparatus to the image forming apparatus if the determination of the reset determination device is positive, a resetting device for resetting the image forming apparatus when receiving the reset instruction from the central control apparatus, a reset completion determining device for determining if the reset operation is completed by the image forming apparatus, and a problem information erasing device for automatically erasing the problem information stored in the problem information storing device disposed in the central control system, if the determination of the reset completion determining device is positive.
In yet another embodiment, the supervising system may include a problem information erasing device controller for controlling the problem information erasing device to selectively erase the problem information from the display, and store the problem information in the problem information storing device as a problem history for the prescribed image forming apparatus before erasing thereof.
In yet another embodiment, the central control apparatus displays or prints out a message requesting that a prescribed image forming apparatus needs to be repaired by a service person immediately, if receiving a problem information from the prescribed image forming apparatus after a prescribed number of times of the reset instruction has been transmitted to the prescribed image forming apparatus.
In another embodiment, the present invention is related to a method of supervising a plurality of image forming apparatus connected to the central control apparatus via the public communication network, including the steps of selectively connecting, either directly or indirectly, a mobile computer to a communication adaptor connected to the public communication network for executing communications of information between the central control apparatus and the mobile computer.